Henna - what is it and what is it used for?

From many women you can hear that they have been painting hair with henna for many years, and the result of its use suits perfectly. But is it only meant for dyeing? Many believe that henna is a cheap method to repaint locks in red, but this is far from the case. There are a lot of varieties and prescriptions for this product, and sometimes it is easy to get confused about the purpose of this or that henna. In this article I want to tell you everything about the medium, what it is made of, what kind and for what is needed, is it always natural. Also consider the feedback of women who use henna.

Production

Not everything, on which there is an inscription "Henna", is to her, the more natural. Henna is Lawsonia inermis - such a plant. It is used for production, and each part is intended for different uses.

The upper leaves of the Lavonia are endowed with the most powerful coloring properties, and only they are used for the traditional oriental body painting, that is so fashionable today mehendi. The henna intended for coloring hair is a powder obtained from the bottom leaves. Colorless henna is obtained from the stem of the plant. So to speak, non-waste production. What does henna look like? See the photos in this article.

Now let's figure out when the product is natural, and in which cases - no. We will learn to distinguish the original from a fake to get for your money the product that was planned to buy.

Natural remedy

Natural kinds of henna are two means: for coloring of hair in red color, that is red, and colorless, which purpose - treatment of curls and a skin of a head. As for such means for staining eyebrows and mehendi, it is rarely possible to meet in the composition of henna, we'll tell about this in the content of the article.

If you need henna, then carefully look at the components of the purchased product. Natural henna is a product made only from lavsonia, and only one ingredient will be prescribed: "harpoon" or "henna natural". Judging by the reviews of the girls, the most popular is the Iranian, and it is sold in ordinary paper packages, it is quite inexpensive (about fifteen rubles apiece).

The natural remedy from lavsonia at breeding smells of chopped hay, and the hair after henna also keeps this pleasant aroma for a long time. Other products that are able to impart a different color and are endowed with a different odor may be only a part of henna, that is, have a minimum amount of harness, or even be made from other herbs. Also, in such products, there are necessarily chemical dyes, which will not be of any use to us.

Henna of different shades

Multicolored henna is obtained by adding to the law of various colorants, which, unfortunately, most often with natural components have nothing in common. Of natural dyes, henna is added to the henna to get natural dye black, not red. You can also paint in chestnut, you just need to buy henna with the addition of coffee. If you see on the package an image of a woman with blue-black, raspberry or eggplant-colored hair, you can be completely sure that there are a lot of chemistry in the composition.

Manufacturers

There are only two kinds of natural henna, it's Iranian and Indian. Means are made from the same plant, but the results are different, prices, respectively, also vary.

Iranian henna can be bought at a nearby store or kiosk, it is cheap, as we already wrote, but the result is not so stunning. Hair after henna will turn red, but not bright. This tool is suitable for girls who want to get a less intense shade. Henna of Iranian production is not recommended for frequent use by women with dry hair type, since they can be even more dried.

If you spend on Indian henna, which sometimes costs much more than professional paints, the result will be stunning. The locks will turn bright red, become shiny, well-groomed. Henna Indian can be used without fear for hair even after a perm, it does not dry hair and scalp.

Now let's get acquainted with varieties of henna.

For mehendi

Henna for painting on the body is rarely made of a natural product, that is, from Lawsonia. Some funds are only natural in nature, and some of them consist entirely of solid chemistry. What is the difference between them?

1. For mehendi, natural henna is not used at home. To work it, you need experience, special training. It is difficult to apply, requires better cleaning of the skin before the procedure, dries very quickly, requires dilution with additional products, for example, special oil. To all other things, the drawing appears quite slowly, and one wrong hand movement can lead to a poor-quality and crooked pattern. Paint on the basis of natural henna only professionals work.
2. Dyes for mehendi are most often made only from chemistry. On the packaging write that it's henna, but in the composition you will not find it, or it will be a very small amount. Such means are easy to use at home, they do not require additional components for work and are quickly absorbed, they are easy to apply, the pattern is visible immediately.

For eyebrows

Most recently, on the shelves, there was only one kind of henna for staining eyebrows - black Indian. There were no other shades, but this dye was still popular. She painted such hair perfectly, she did not practically spoil the skin, she made the line of the eyebrows clear and wide, and kept perfectly. Now in stores shelves with dyes for eyebrows are full of variety of shades. Practically on each package it is written "henna for brows". The responses of the girls on this issue are unequivocal: practically in no composition is there a hint of the use of laussonia! What is the difference between these dyes from those that are henna?

1. Such tools have a huge palette of colors, where you can choose the one suitable for your hair. Of course, such a gamma can be obtained only by combining lavson with chemical dyes.
2. These products are able to dye not only the hairs, but also the skin beneath them, creating a clear contour that does not require make-up, and will last long enough. It will wash off in two weeks or a month - firmness depends on the type of skin.
3. Are sold in small tubes and jars. The cost of these funds is very high.
4. For dyeing at home, these dyes are not suitable, since they require precise application. If you accidentally miss it, and apply the paint past the contour, then before the full flushing, you can not do anything with your blooper.

Unfortunately, manufacturers of such tools never write the full composition of their product. On the packaging, only the vegetable components are listed, these are Lavsonia, Amla, Cassia, and other plants. But there is not a single reminder of the ingredient, due to which the funds would have such shades and stamina. None of the above herbs are able to give such a result.

Most women prefer to stain their eyebrows with henna (photo results are in this publication). It is suitable not only for the black-haired, but also for the fair-haired girls. The intensity of the shade depends only on the exposure time.

For hair

Coloring henna is intended for dyeing hair in a red tint, and is mostly natural. The powder has the color of dried grass, what it is, smells accordingly, when diluted with water, the flavor intensifies, the color does not change.

Colorless henna, prepared from the stem of Lavonia, is intended for hair care, their treatment. It is applied in the same way as the coloring (the instruction will be provided in the further content), does not bring any shade to the curls. It is often used by women with discolored hair, requiring nutrition, moisturizing and regeneration. Prone to fatty curls, this henna is also useful, it will be dried, and the head wash will eventually be required less and less. Hair will recover, become more voluminous and shiny.

The use of coloring henna in the home

If you decide to give your locks a red color, then you can not find a better tool than henna. This is a natural remedy that does not harm hair, like paint. The color turns natural, as if you have red hair since birth. Henna is an ideal tool for coloring thin and liquid ringlets, since after application of hair it becomes thicker, volume appears. On the merits tell you later, but for now, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the technique of staining:

1. If the hair is short, then there will be enough two sachets, it will take three to four sachets per medium, more than four for long ones, it all depends on the length and density.
2. Powder from the sachets must be poured into the dishes, which is not a pity, as it will be painted, only not in metal.
3. Boil the water, and, without cooling, pour a little into the powder. Stir to get a thick gruel. Add so much water that the consistency resembled homemade sour cream.
4. A few minutes henna should bother and podostyt. At this time, you can wash and dry your hair a little, because henna is applied only to clean and moistened curls.
5. It is rather difficult to apply, since the grass does not dissolve. Use the usual method (brush, comb).
6. When applying, be sure to use polyethylene or silicone gloves. If henna gets on the skin, then it will be difficult to wash it off, it will take several days to pass with hands of a reddish color! In the summer, this problem is solved quite simply, it is only necessary to rub the skin with sorrel and wash it off.
7. When all the hair is processed, put a hat on your head for coloring. On the intensity of the color, it will have little effect, but it will save your furniture and the floor from henna particles falling from the head.
8. If you need a more saturated color, then you can keep the tool as long as you have the patience, at least an hour, or two. Hair from this will not become bad, on the contrary, they will be saturated, they will get more useful substances. Expect a small shade or not too bright color - thirty minutes will be enough.
9. Henna is washed off with plenty of warm water. Particles will be tangled in the hair, so be patient!
10. Do not use shampoo, as the pigments must be well absorbed and fixed.

If you need a chestnut shade, then before growing into powder, add coffee (soluble) in a ratio of 3/1, where the three parts of henna. If you need a darker shade of red, add half a tablespoon of basma.

Color fastness

Pigments of red color are the most durable, so it's not so easy to get rid of them! Particles are large, they are almost "tightly" attached to the scales of hair, and even professional washing with them can not cope. If you added basma, the shade will quickly come down, leaving the same redhead. Color almost does not fade, beautifully shimmers in the sun, shines. For permanent staining, henna also fits perfectly (photo before and after the procedure can be seen in our article).

Benefit

As we have already said, henna perfectly removes excess fat from the hair, and in due course the head will need to be washed less often. Fine hair gives the volume, makes the structure thicker. After dyeing with henna hair shine, roots are strengthened. Dropout and brittleness are minimized. With each application of henna, the volume will become more and more, as it has accumulative qualities.

Harm

You can not use henna more than twice a month, because it can dry hair and scalp.

The dyed hair does not succumb to washing, so if you decide to use henna, be ready to stay red forever, or change your image over time, shortly cut your hair!

Henna: reviews

As it was written at the beginning of the article, many women use only henna for dyeing hair. As a result, they have a beautiful natural color, which does not tarnish or wash off. But what else do girls say about henna? Reviews were found in large numbers, and that's what they write:

• Color is ideal, costs are cheap, you can always adjust the shade with coffee or basma, the time of aging;
• Hair became thicker;
• Curls after henna have ceased to break and fall out, look healthy;
• The hair is docile, soft, which rarely happens after using chemical paints.

To treat the hair does not necessarily repaint, you can use colorless henna. Reviews about her actions are all positive.